Jonathan Toews Opens Up About NHL Future
No decision has been made on whether he will play a 17th NHL season.
He will take the next few weeks to reflect on the year, process what the comeback meant to him, and determine whether he wants to go through the grind again.
#NHLJets exit interviews are underway. Jonathan Toews just told us he hasn’t made a decision yet on his future. That’s going to come in the next few weeks as he reflects on things. Says he would only want to return with Winnipeg. No other team.
— Mike McIntyre (@mikemcintyrewpg) April 17, 2026
What he did make clear is that if he does return, there is only one place he would want to do it. "If I decide to play next year, I'd love to be part of this team," Toews said of the Winnipeg Jets, adding he would want to return "100 per cent" if they would have him.
Toews, 37, rejoined the NHL this past season after missing back-to-back years while dealing with long COVID and chronic immune response syndrome.
He signed a one-year deal with his hometown Winnipeg Jets last summer and ended up suiting up for all 82 games, which triggered performance bonuses that pushed his total salary from a $2 million base to $7 million.
A Year of Mixed Results
Toews was candid about where his game fell short.
He posted 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points, the lowest output of his career, and said that the adjustment to NHL speed after such a long absence was a real problem early on.
"The one thing I really struggled with was the speed and playing fast with energy every night," he said. "Given the fact I hadn't been playing for quite a while, I'm super happy and proud I went after the dream of playing in the NHL again, but at the same time you have expectations in your mind of what kind of player you can be and how you want to contribute to your team, and obviously I wasn't anywhere close to that unfortunately."
Jonathan Toews said no decision has been made on his future. He’ll use the next few weeks to reflect on the season, but praised the organization and #NHLJets players for making him feel welcome.
— Mitchell Clinton (@MitchellClinton) April 17, 2026
Should he decide to return, he’d want it to be in Winnipeg. pic.twitter.com/wk0ag4jGjQ
He was one of just five Jets players to appear in all 82 games, which is an impressive physical accomplishment given everything his body went through over the previous two years.
The Jets finished 35-25-12 and missed the playoffs, snapping a three-year streak of postseason appearances and delivering a disappointing follow-up to last year's Presidents' Trophy.
Toews acknowledged the sting of that.
"This time last year, thinking about playing hockey and gearing up to try and make a comeback, I was dreaming of playing in front of a playoff crowd," he said. "Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way."
What a Return Would Look Like
Toews will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
If he decides to come back, he would again be eligible for a bonus-laden one-year contract.
AFP Analytics projects his base salary at around $1.45 million for the role he would likely fill, but with games-played and points-based bonuses structured similarly to this season, the total value could realistically land in the $4 to $4.5 million range.
Jonathan Toews picked up his first game-winning goal of the season for his hometown Jets.
— Dave Minuk (@ICdave) April 10, 2026
It comes 1,253 days after his last one which was back on November 3, 2022 for the Hawks. pic.twitter.com/Ohta3wWS2E
Winnipeg has more than $20 million in projected cap space for 2026-27, which means affordability is not an obstacle.
The bigger question is whether Toews himself decides the effort is worth another year. His legacy is already cemented regardless of what he chooses.
Three Stanley Cup championships with Chicago, the 2010 Conn Smythe Trophy, the 2013 Selke Trophy, the captaincy for 15 seasons with the Blackhawks, and a place on the NHL's Top 100 list in 2017.
Photo Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
